Indiana Broadcast History Archive

From the time he was a little kid, Steve Sweitzer always had a love for photography. After dropping his political science major at Earlham College, he became the first student to ever graduate from the school with a degree in photographic journalism. From there, he began a thriving photojournalism career that has lasted over 40 years.  

Much of Steve’s career was with WISH-TV Channel 8 in Indianapolis, where he worked as chief photographer and the station’s news operations manager. During his time with WISH, he was named Indiana News Photographer of the Year and received first place in the Associated Press reporting category. Steve has also used his experience to provide guidance for the next generation of journalists. For more than 20 years, he taught courses at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), where he received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, their highest honor for an adjunct professor. 

Ever since leaving WISH-TV in 2014, Sweitzer has worked as the owner of his own production company Sweitzer Productions. He is a reporter and producer for PetPals TV and Great Day TV. On a national level, Sweitzer has served terms as vice president and president of the National Press Photographers Association.  

In 2021, Sweitzer was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Here's his video from the ceremony. 

Early Life & College

Steve Sweitzer was born in Nashville, Tennessee. When he was 3 years old, his father accepted a job working for Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he was in charge of the university’s buildings and grounds. Sweitzer practically grew up on the Earlham College campus while also spending time exploring the woods and streams of Richmond. A self-described “faculty brat,” he got to know the staff of the school thanks to his father’s connections. 

Sweitzer’s father was also an amateur photographer, and it was he who introduced Steve to the art of still photography. As a kid, Sweitzer would often watch his father expose images in the homemade dark room tucked away in the basement of his childhood home. He became intrigued by the “magic” of photos emerging from a blank piece of paper, and his father’s hobby soon turned into his own hobby. After years of watching his dad create images, Steve received his first half-frame camera in high school. 

 Sweitzer discusses his discovery of his love for photography.

After graduating from George School – a boarding high school in Newton, Pennsylvania – Sweitzer returned home to Richmond to attend the college he grew up on, Earlham College. During his first semester, Steve majored in political science but unfortunately flunked his first semester. This first semester caused him to rethink his career path, and he soon decided to pursue his true calling – photography. Although his father was supportive of his decision, Steve was met with hesitation from his mother, who believed he should pursue a more academically minded profession.  

Through his connections at the university, Steve set up a meeting with the president of Earlham, who had also worked as a photographer for Time magazine. It was at this meeting where he set up an independent major for himself where he could study photojournalism.

Throughout his time with the college, he earned experience through his coursework and an internship with a film production company in Detroit, Michigan. At the end of his four years, Steve became the first (and only) student to graduate from Earlham with a degree in photographic journalism.  

Coming out of college, Steve had various aspirations for his future as a photographer. One of his biggest dreams was to travel the world working as a photographer for a major market television station. Although his original love for photography began with still photos, this passion eventually transitioned to motion pictures. Another dream he had coming out of college was to move to Hollywood and become a cinematographer.  

To chase this dream, he began his career at a small film production company in Indianapolis cutting together commercials. However, this small role could not provide enough income, and as a result, he started working as a waiter. While working in the service industry, a close friend of his recommended he apply for an entry level photographer position with WISH-TV Channel 8 in Indianapolis. After submitting a demo reel, Steve was hired by Lee Giles in 1977.  

Listen to Sweitzer discuss being hired at WISH-TV below.

WISH-TV Channel 8 – 1st Tenure 

At the time of his hiring, WISH-TV was making a major technological transition – the station became the first in Indianapolis to make the transition from shooting on film to video. Steve had always had a fascination for shooting on video since it provided photographers the opportunity to immediately get feedback on their footage rather than having to wait and process the film. Although he did not have much experience shooting footage for news, it was Steve’s enthusiasm for the new video format that helped him get the job. Soon after his first day, Lee Giles tasked him with helping existing photographers transfer to the new format.  

It was during this onboarding period where Steve began to learn more about how to capture and edit footage for news. Despite not being as experienced as the other photographers, Steve stayed optimistic and quickly began generating captivating stories for the station. During his early years, Steve had the opportunity to capture footage of one of the most historic weather stories in Indiana history – “The Blizzard of ’78.” 

Listen to Sweitzer discuss the blizzard coverage below.

Here is archival footage from his work during the Blizzard of '78

During his three years with the station, Sweitzer was consistently turning in short, daily news stories for every broadcast. However, as he gained more experiences, Sweitzer quickly became fascinated with working on longer-form stories required more reporting. He soon decided he wanted to try and steer away from the daily stories and pursue this new career path. To do this, he applied for a photographer position with WISH-TV’s PM Magazine, a magazine show that focused on long-form, feel-good stories. When he did not get the position, he decided to explore other opportunities outside of Indianapolis.  

WHAS-TV, Louisville, KY

The perfect opportunity for Sweitzer came from WHAS-TV in Louisville, a station that was looking for more photographers to join their team. He greatly admired the reporting staff at WHAS and was soon hired as a photographer in 1979. After a short stint in this position, Sweitzer applied for a producer position which could allow him to create long-form content. Although he did not have much experience reporting stories, he was eager to accept the challenge.  

Below is an example of his work as a producer.

After the network decided to replace the show he and his team had been working on, Sweitzer suddenly found himself out of a job. Luckily, he had left WISH-TV on good terms with his former boss, Lee Giles. After calling Lee asking about jobs in Indianapolis, Giles made him a better offer: to return to WISH and become the station’s newest chief photographer. The decision did not take long to think about, and before he knew it, Sweitzer was back in Indianapolis, where he would remain for the rest of his career. 

Listen to Sweitzer discuss what it was like to work as a producer below. 

Return to WISH & NPPA 

In his new role, Sweitzer then became the supervisor in charge of all the photographers who had trained him and taught him everything he knew. It was in this role where Sweitzer learned about his natural ability to lead a team of photographers. The team’s collective work, along with Steve’s individual work, began to gain national attention thanks to their persistence on chasing features that told citizen’s personal stories. In 1986, Steve was named Photographer of the Year, and the WISH-TV photojournalism team was named the Television News Photography Station of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association.  

Sweitzer was introduced to the association shortly after becoming a professional photojournalist. He became interested with the organization due to their commitment to collaboration and making everyone’s work better. Along with their annual national competitions, the NPPA became well known in the media industry thanks to their News Video Workshop held annually at the University of Oklahoma. However, according to Sweitzer, this workshop could actually be better described as a boot camp.  

After attending the workshop, Sweitzer became deeply involved with NPPA to learn from other mentors within the organization and help provide feedback on other journalists’ work. Due to his strong relationship with the board of directors, he was elected to vice president of the NPPA, and would later be promoted to the position of president the following year. During his term as president, Sweitzer was influential in helping improve the organization’s finances. He was also an integral figure in helping the organization form a new workshop for advanced photographers.  

Listen to Sweitzer discuss being at NPPA below.

When his term with the NPPA concluded, Sweitzer enrolled in IUPUI to take advantage of the university’s new journalism master’s degree program. After graduating from IUPUI, he began to apply his knowledge from his coursework to his work with WISH-TV. With the help of his boss, Lee Giles, Sweitzer created and was the inaugural candidate for a brand-new position at WISH-TV – News Operations Manager.  

Listen to Sweitzer the creation of his new position below.

In his new position, Sweitzer oversaw the production side of the entire newsroom. Furthermore, he was tasked with leading the news team and assigning jobs on special projects and events happening in Indianapolis like the Super Bowl and the NCAA March Madness tournament. However, one of the most impactful moments from Sweitzer’s time as news operations manager was not based in Indiana – WISH-TV’s coverage of 9/11. On the morning of September 11th, Sweitzer gathered a crew of journalists and traveled to New York City to provide updated coverage of the aftermath of the attacks. After a week of working, the team returned home, forever changed by the events that they saw in the city.  

Listen to Sweitzer discuss his 9/11 coverage below.

IUPUI   

After an additional 9 years working with WISH-TV, Sweitzer decided to add another profession to his resume. During his time with WISH, Sweitzer was becoming more and more disappointed with the lack of experience from interns working at the station. After a heated discussion with Jim Brown, the Dean of Journalism at IUPUI, Jim challenged Sweitzer to come work at the school to see if he could do any better. Ever since his time with the NPPA, he always loved teaching and sharing his experiences with the new generation of journalists, so he eagerly accepted the challenge.   

Listen to Sweitzer discuss his position at IUPUI below.

For the next 20 years, Sweitzer would juggle his time in the classroom with his time in the newsroom. Oftentimes, he liked to combine his two work environments. During final exam seasons, Sweitzer liked to bring his classes into the newsroom to expose them to the fast-paced environment of the newsroom. His teaching methods would turn out to be extremely effective. Jim Brown, the same dean who challenged Sweitzer to become a professor, ended up nominating Sweitzer for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at IUPUI, the highest honor that can be awarded to an adjunct professor. During the ceremony, Sweitzer’s mother made the trip to Indianapolis and was there to cheer on her son. Sweitzer then retired from teaching in 2019.  

Sweitzer Productions & Post-WISH Career 

After over 30 years of working with WISH-TV, Sweitzer began to feel a disconnect with the new management at the station. He did not agree with the direction that the news team was going, and the station even began offering veteran photographers contract buyouts in order to cut costs. When management reached out to Steve offering him a buyout, he eagerly took the deal. His career with WISH unfortunately reached a point where he was no longer having fun reporting the news, and he decided that if the company did not offer a buyout, he would quit.  

Listen to Sweitzer discuss the WISH-TV buyout below.

Shortly after departing from WISH, Steve was approached by a former coworker and WISH-TV anchor, Patty Spitler, with the opportunity to work with her at PetPals TV and Great Day TV as the chief photographer. In his role, Steve is in charge of producing all stories that are broadcast through the station while also reporting on stories himself. He also contributes a regular segment for the show called “Steve’s Tech Talk” providing information on anything and everything technology.

Here's an example of one he filmed about Facebook Hacks.

In 2010, Sweitzer founded his own production company, Sweitzer Productions where he focuses on independent, freelance work. The company provides video and still photography, editing, writing, reporting, and field producing services to numerous media outlets. Some of his clients that he has provided stories for include 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, 48 Hours, and The Letterman Show. 

In 2021, Steve Sweitzer was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame for his 30 years of contributions to the Indianapolis media industry. With this accomplishment, he became just the third photojournalist to ever be inducted into the hall of fame alongside long-time WTHR photojournalist Steve Starnes and television reporter Betty Chadwick-Sullivan.  

Steve continues to produce stories today for both Sweitzer Productions and PetPals TV.  

Listen to Sweitzer discuss his advice for the next generation below.

You can watch the full Steve Sweitzer oral history interview conducted by Jack Lidner in 2024 in the video below. 

Written by Jack Lindner

April 2024